From Sydney to Vladivostok, communities around the world began to welcome 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges.

Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for fireworks vantage point.

A light display recognised Indigenous people. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean are the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in Times Square, New York.

Conflict muted acknowledgements of the New Year in places like the Middle East, Sudan and Ukraine. Fireworks blasted off the Sydney Harbour Bridge and across the bay. More than a million Australians and others gathered at iconic Sydney Harbour for the celebration.

British pop star, Robbie Williams, led a sing-along with the crowd. The celebration also featured Indigenous ceremonies and performances that acknowledged the land’s first people. Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning.

The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth — alluding to the reptile’s shedding skin. Stores in Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from January 1, have been selling snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will mark the Year of the Snake later with the Lunar New Year.

In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or cancelled during a period of national mourning, following the Sunday crash of a Jeju Air flight at Muan that killed 179 people. In Thailand’s Bangkok, shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows.

A performance by popular rap singer, Lisa, the Thai member of the South Korean girl group, Blackpink, was scheduled just before midnight.

Fireworks display in Indonesia’s Jakarta featured 800 drones, reports The Associated Press. Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between the leaders who face tensions with the West.

Xi told Putin their countries will “always move forward hand-in-hand,” the official Xinhua News Agency said. China has maintained ties and robust trade with Russia since the latter invaded Ukraine in 2022, helping to offset Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Putin.

Xi also addressed Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing: “We Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same family. No one can ever sever the bond of kinship between us.”